1. Field
The present invention relates to manually operated spreaders for particulate material such as fertilizer, grass seed and the like, and in particular, the invention relates to hand held container and spreader package for spreading particulate material.
2. State of the Art
Conventionally, particulate material, such as fertilizer, grass seed and the like, has been spread or distributed on a surface such as the ground or a lawn, using a hopper-type spreader which is supported on wheels and adapted to be pushed across the ground or lawn. Such spreaders are heavy, bulky and relatively expensive. These spreaders further require frequent cleaning and, of course, must be stored between use. The particulate material to be used with such spreaders must be purchased separately, and portions of the particulate material must be transferred from the separate package of the particulate material to the spreader.
Portable, body supported spreading devices have been used wherein a disc or other rotating member is manually activated to distribute the particulate material. The body supported spreaders conventionally have a self-contained bag or container means which must be filled from a separate supply container of the particulate material. The body supported, portable spreaders are sufficiently expensive to preclude them being disposed of after they have been used, and, thus, they generally must be cleaned and stored between uses.